


Adventures On The High Seas {HIATUS}

by calypso_pond_witch_of_knowledge



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Piratestuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-19
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-02-05 06:02:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1808023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calypso_pond_witch_of_knowledge/pseuds/calypso_pond_witch_of_knowledge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Piratestuck</p><p>VRISKA SERKET is the most feared pirate in the world</p><p>KARKAT VANTAS just wants to catch a damn break</p><p>TEREZI PYROPE is going to make her pay</p><p>JOHN EGBERT wanted to avoid this life but, it appears that the world is going to screw with him again.</p><p>and THE AUTHOR is shitty at making summaries.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Start Of It All

Your name is KARKAT VANTAS and you are kind of pissed off.

First you had to go and get yourself captured, then you had to make the horrid trek across the desert of Sorrows, where many a traveler had lost their lives, and now he was stuck in a dirty tuskbeast hovel. Quite literally. Your temporary roommates were a bunch of tuskbeasts. The other people in the small area were both gross and smelly and you'd rather have no interaction with them at all. Unfortunately it appeared that you were going to be stuck here for quite some time. Sighing, you lean back against the grimy wall and tried not to think too hard about what your back was touching.

The door to your right creaked open and pale yellow light was shed on your humble abode. A woman stuck her head out and shouted, "Oy, you lot! Get up an' get in 'ere! We 'aven't got all day!" You grumble and pick yourself off the floor. Upon entering the pub you blinked in the sudden brightness. Someone prods you in the back and you growl a little in annoyance. Soon you're standing in a line with the other captives. You look around and notice a relatively sma;; troll making her way down the line, examining each of you, occasionally asking someone a question. Her long hair was bordering untamed and her ensemble was all black with blue accents and designs. A large hat with a single blue feather was stuck on her head. The only piece of clothing that wasn't black or blue were her red leather boots. 

She comes to a stop in front of you and grabs your face in her gloved hands. She turns your head side to side and you glare at her. 

"What's your name?" she asks letting your head go roughly.

"And why the fuck should I tell you?" you say. She laughs and looks over to a gruff guy standing in the corner. 

"I'll take this one and the psiioniic over there." the pirate says pointing to you then someone farther down the line. Someone nods and you two are shoved forward.

"Thank you Ms. Serket." the guy says as the Serket chick hands him a few coins.

"Let's go idiots." You assume she is referring to you and the psiioniic. She doesn't wait to see if you follow and after glancing at each other you move cautiously after her.

"Hey!" you call to the quick moving troll. "Where the hell are we going? What's your name? Who are you? What are you using us for or whatever? Who were those gu-" the troll stops suddenly and turns around.

"First of all, from now on you will call me ma'am, Captain, or Captain Serket. I'm a pirate, you may have heard of me, and obviously you're going to be joining my crew." she turns back around and keeps walking. There's a few minutes of silence then,

"Your crew?" the psiioniic says, speaking up finally.

"Yes. My crew. We recently lost a few trolls in a battle and I need replacements."

"What are we going to do?" you ask suspiciously.

"You'll do whatever jobs I need you to do. Now. We've gotten to my ship. I'll introduce you to the crew then we set sail." she turns back towards you two and grins a bit manically. "We might want to speed up those introductions. After all, I've got a few ships on my tail." The Captain turns and bounds up the plank onto the ship. You stare after her for a few seconds then after a quick glance at the psiioniic follow her up the board.


	2. The Crew

You and the psiioniic emerge on top of the deck and look around a little. The captain walks to the center of the deck and shouts,

"Everyone gather on the deck! We got some new crew members that are going to need some help and some introductions." A few people emerged from below deck but you notice one girl slide down from the top of one of the masts. "Alright introduce yourselves," she said once they were all there.

A small-ish boy with a single stripe of hair that was bordering fluffy and massive horns on the side of his head stepped forward first. "I'm, um, Tavros, and I'm um the cook. I also help out a bit on board." 

Next a fairly tall girl with short hair and one slightly curved horn stepped forward. "I'm Kanaya and I'm the sail maker. I'm also the boatswain."

Then there was a girl with long slightly unruly wavy black hair and rams horns. "I'm Aradia and I'm the cook and the surgeon."

A burly man with one horn shaped like an arrow and the other broken off stpped forward. "I'm Equius and I'm the master gunner I'm also the cooper and the carpenter." 

Last there was a short girl with meowbeast shaped small horns. "I'm Nepeta and I'm the rigger."

"You two will be our navigator and our second rigger. It's a big ship and we may need two." she points to the psiioniic. "You're the navigator," she turns to you, "and you're helping Nepeta as the second rigger. Now let's set sail. We have a few people on our tail." The crew springs into action, and Nepeta bounds over to you.

"What's your name?"

"Karkat."

"Well Karkat we should get to work getting this ship out onto open waters before they find us. Follow my lead." With that she promptly climbs up the mast and starts running along the top. "Well," she calls down, "hurry up we haven't got all day!" You stare at her for a little bit then climb after her. Once you're on top you follow her and release the sail. A strong wind pushed her away from the port and soon they were riding over the waters. 

"Soon you'll be able to do this in no time at all!" Nepeta calls to you over the wind. "For now, let's head down and see what else we can do!" You slide down and wait for her to get on deck before speaking.

"How'd you even end up here?"

"Well I'd been taken by I guess a rival of Vriska's and so she attacked the ship. I didn't know if they were friend or foe so I ran up the mast and sat there. Well she must've seen me because she called me down. Asked me if I'd ever worked on a ship before. I said no ma'am but I've seen it done. She asked me to furl the mast and so I did really quick too. When I finished she said she'd give me a job if I agreed. I did and that was that. It's been about a year since then. It's tough but you get used to it. Now come on, let's see what chores we've got to do." She goes into a room at the edge of the ship and you follow slowly. Upon entering you take in the fact that it's rather lavishly decorated. A big trunk lies in the corner and suddenly you notice all the maps. Star maps, land maps, topography, maps of places you'd never even seen. The captain herself was sitting behind a wooden desk in a large chair, studying one.

"Captain?" Nepeta says tentatively.

Vriska looks up. "See if Tavros needs any help then I guess clean up. We're going to be sailing for a few days before we can reach Edriln. I won't be showing up and have my ship look like something scrounged up from the bottom of the ocean. Now leave. I've got work to do." Nepeta nods and motions for you to follow her out. She leads you below decks where you follow her into the kitchen. Tavros is there cooking some meat and cutting up a few vegetables.

"Hey Tavros! Need any help?" Nepeta asks cheerfully. 

"Um yeah, you guys can help me cook some of this and then we'll have to see if we can preserve some pieces." You and Nepeta nod and get to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is appreciated! 
> 
> Funny story I had to keep like 4 tabs open at all times for correct sailing/pirate terms.  
> I suppose I should mention the sites so you know you guys can know what these terms actually mean.  
> http://www.brethrenofthegreatlakes.com/forum/index.php?topic=72.0  
> http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/Pirates/p/Positions-And-Duties-On-Board-A-Pirate-Ship.htm  
> http://thepirateking.com/historical/ship_roles.htm


	3. The Fight Begins

Your name is JOHN EGBERT and at the moment you're feeling a bit stressed right now.

You've just been given the task of hunting down Vriska Serket. And you have to do it within a month. You groan and drop your head onto the table. There's a knock on your door.

"Who is it?" you ask, your voice muffled by the wood.

"Your friends dumbass. Now let us in." Dave says from behind the door.

"It's unlocked." There's a click and the door opens and your friends, and your crew, walk in. You lift your head off the table and watch them file in. Terezi is last to enter, grinning like a maniac as she always does.

"So, I take it something happened?" Rose asks, taking in your gloomy expression.

"We have to find and capture Vriska Serket." Terezi stiffens a little at the name.

"Do we have any leads?" she asks after a moment.

"One. She was last seen heading for Edriln."

"Why would she be heading there?" Jane wonders out loud.

"No idea." you say. "But it's all we've got and we've got to get her before the month ends. We have a few hours before we absolutely have to leave and go after them. Go prepare." you stand and take a deep breath as they file out.

"John?" it's Dave. He's standing by the door looking at you. "Are you alright?" 

"Not really. If I can't get her I'll be removed from the navy. They'll take my ship and my crew. I'll be thrown into the street penniless and alone." 

"Well then we'd better hurry up and find her." Dave says.

"I suppose so." You stand and stretch. "We'll meet at the ship in an hour." He nods and exits the room. You step out from behind your desk and gather a few maps and charts before taking your leave as well. Once you are safely in your room you lean back against the door and groan. You've been given an impossible task and everyone's expecting you to manage to pull it off. Maybe if you had a miracle it could happen, but, a month? She's been running for years and no one's even come within throwing distance. You throw some things into a bag then you hurry onto the pier and find that your crew is already there.

"So, John, are we heading Edriln right away or are we stopping at a port on our way there?" Jade asks.

"I suggest going straight there. More chance to intercept her in her path that way." Dirk says.

"However if we stop at one of the ports we could ask if someone's seen her." Rose counters.

"But there's more than one port on the way, and they might not tell us because she's pretty well known for being the best pirate. She's also moderately terrifying." Jake says. "But really, it's John's decision."

"I say we go straight there and intercept her once she stops at Edriln." you say. "Let's get moving." They nod and everyone picks up their stuff and boards. Once you board they raise the anchor and furl the sails. Soon you're racing along the waters toward Edriln.


	4. Brawl

Your name is JOHN EGBERT and you love to sail.

Admittedly the reason you are sailing isn't the greatest nor are you sure this will even work, but when you're racing along the waves it's easy to forget that and just enjoy the adventure. Even if it may not last until the end of the month and it's very likely you'll become a peasant and a beggar and die cold and al- happy thoughts John. Appreciate it while it lasts. 'Cause god knows how long it'll last. You shake your head and head back into your office, sinking into the chair. Maybe you should try and rest. You could use it. Soon it becomes apparent that you have no real choice in whether or not you're going to fall asleep as your eyes flutter shut and you fall forward onto your desk.

_You're chasing someone, a girl you think, but they keep jumping out of reach. Someone is also chasing you and you glance over your shoulder._

_Demon horses with fire for eyes and teeth that gleam in the darkness thunder behind you. Riding them are the thousands of innocents killed in the recent wars. You stumble and almost fall. They're moaning and crying and screaming why. You turn back to the girl in front of you and run faster. You get to a bridge and practically fly across it. The cavalry of dead pauses, their horses whinnying and stomping their hooves in the night, sending up clouds of dust. You chase the girl and come to a crossroads of a sort. One path leads to a fleet of ships, the other- The other goes straight of the edge off a cliff._

_The girl is grinning maniacally at you and tilting her head to the side._

_"Which'll it be? Certain death or a chance to right the wrongs of the past." she practically sings._

_"Who are you?" you demand, taking note of the fact that she's moving farther down the path towards the fleet. You also become very aware of the horses' whinnies getting louder. A few riders are edging forward._

_She looks towards them clicks her tongue, pouting at you. "Not much time know. Choose, fool." You look between the two. "Tick tock." she sings. The horses begin to make their way across the bridge. Soon they're sending up clouds of dust and the old bridge creaks under the wight of hundreds of thousands of steeds. The girl has gone down the path to the fleet._

_"Tick tock John!" she calls. You bite your lip and race down the path after her._

Someone's shaking your shoulder.

"John!" a voice hisses. It's Dave.

"What? What do you want?"

"We're almost there." You sit up and stretch. "You look fucking adorable."

"Shut up Dave." You stand up and walk over, trying to shake of the sense of unease leftover from your dream.

"I hope this works." He mutters as you gather your hammer. "Hey John?"

"Hm?"

"You okay?"

You look up at him. "Yeah, I'm fine," you offer a small smile, which you suspect is more mischievous than reassuring. "Good luck kiss?" You ask. He groans.

"Fucking fine you ass." You grin and give him a quick kiss, then bop him on the head.

"Let's go." You herd him out your door and meet the others on the main deck.

"Okay. Be prepared to make chase the second we get back on this ship. She will not go peacefully. Good luck." You take Jade, Rose, Terezi, and Dave with you as you make your way to the Green Pirate Pub. It didn't take much to convince some passerby to tell you where she'd gone.

"What do you think'll happen when we get there?" Jade asks.

"Well. She'll put up a fight. I'm pretty sure she knows we're coming, I think I saw someone trailing us a while back."

Rose sighs. "That's why we told the guys to be ready to leave. At least in the same way that she'll be expecting us to come get her we'll be ready to chase her when she runs. I just hope she doesn't run too far or too fast."

"Why does everything we do have to end up being so complicated?" Dave groans.

"That's just who she is," Terezi mutters. "When you fight her it's almost like you're playing some kind of game or reading a story. She forces you to do all these twists and turns and leaps and bounds while she watches from the sidelines, waiting for you to catch on to the game. Once that happens it gets more complex and twisted. You get a strong lead only to find it's a dead end planted by the woman herself. It's like she's weaving a complex web for you to fall into so that once you do she can gobble you up."

"Well, that's reassuring." Dave says.

Terezi shrugs. "It's better you know this before the 'game' starts instead of learning halfway through playing and being trapped." On that happy note, your friends fall silent and you make your merry way to the pub. A mere five minutes later you stand outside the grimey place. Thick layers of soot and dirt cover the window panes, but not enough to block light out completely. The sign swings creakily back and forth above your heads, barely heard above the yelling and laughter from inside.

"Be prepared to fight. We have no idea what we'll find in here." You say, opening the door. You lead the way in and look around. Not many people seemed to have noticed your arrival, and those who did gave you the once over then turned their attention back to whatever they were doing. The rest of your friends file in and shut the door. You survey the room, it's much larger than it looks on the outside. "Alright split up let's try and get what information we can out of people and then we can try and find her." You dismiss your crew and begin to wander around.

Reader => Be Someone Who's Doing Something Interesting

Your name is ROSE LALONDE and you have just spotted a _very_ attractive troll lady sitting at a table.

You make your way over and slide into a chair across from her. She looks at you and raises one delicate eyebrow.

"May I inquire as to who the dashing young woman sitting across from me is?" she says, looking you over. You're doing the same to her. She's very beautiful. From the graceful curve of her horns all the way down to her red skirt, everything about this woman exudes grace and elegance.

"Rose Lalonde, at your service," you say inclining your head in a mock bow.

"Kanaya Maryam. Pleasure to meet you Rose."

"Likewise." A waiter sets down a glass of . . . something in front of you. You must look at it with some expression of disgust because Kanaya smirks.

"The refreshments not pleasing enough?"

"I'm sure they're delightful, I just have a deep-set dislike of alcohol."

"Oh really? What, does it come from some deep-set psychological issues of your childhood?" she's leaning forward now, joking with you. You happen to notice that she is very, very, very beautiful. You smirk back.

"Yes actually it does." she leans back and her face falls.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." You wave her away.

"All water under the bridge. Or should I say, vodka under the bridge." That gives you a small laugh. It's an amazing laugh. Light and tinkling and happy.

"I don't know if you've heard," she says, leaning in conspiratorially, "but I've heard that's where the big bad trolls live." 

"Hm, I'm sure that's not true. A person as elegant as you, must surely have a beautiful home. I'd love to see it one day." A light shade of green, jade maybe?, has colored her cheeks.

“Are you suggesting something?”

“Only if you’re willing.” That was definitely jade on her face, some part of you wondered just how jade she could get. You slide forward and lean on your hand, getting as close as you could to her without actually getting up. Sure enough, the blush spread slowly across her face.

“I will have to go, and, um, tell my, uh, boss,” she stuttered. 

“Yes I suppose I have to go tell John as well,” you murmured, leaning back. She froze, halfway out of her chair, and turned to look at you. You look up at her. Some part of you notices that she is somehow standing with impeccable posture, and that she is really quite tall. “What?” you ask. “What’s wrong?”

She stares at you for a second. “My dear Rose, do you happen to work for the government?” Her voice is stiff and attempting to be distant. It’s as though she has realized something unfortunate, but a large part of her still wishes for it to be false.

“I suppose. I personally never really interact with the higher ups much. Why do you ask?” you say, shifting your weight to your feet. If there is a fight, you will not be caught off guard, no matter how pretty your opponent is. 

“It’s just that, you see, I,” she trails off and makes a ‘hm’ noise.

You raise an eyebrow. “Just that you what?” you ask.

“Well, there may be something I did not tell you.” She stops and looks down at you, keeping your gaze as she sits slowly back down. You make a little gesture telling her to go on. She takes a deep breath and squares her soldiers. “First, am I correct in assuming you work for Captain John Egbert?” You nod, albeit hesitantly. Her face falls. “You see, I got myself into a very awkward situation and ended up working for a certain Serket.”

“You don’t mean Vriska Serket do you?” There is disappointment and apprehensiveness in your voice, despite the, hopefully, neutral expression you are keeping.

She nods once, very quickly, almost like she doesn’t want you to see it. You sit there, drumming the side of your leg, thinking quickly. Sure she was working for the enemy, but that didn’t make her bad.

Right?

You hoped not. The evening had been going wonderfully until then. She chuckles nervously and you realize you are frowning. You smooth out your face and sigh.

“This is very awkward, I am so sorry,” Kanaya says, noting your sigh.

“I suppose we can’t just continue with our original plan and pretend this never happened?” She shakes her head. You sigh again, not caring if you sound ridiculous, and stand. “Well, it was lovely while it lasted. I hope we can meet again on better terms.”

“Right back at you Rose,” she says pulling out a small tube of lipstick. “I really don’t wish to fight. Do you think we could just head back to our separate bosses and calmly tell them about the other party?”

“I think that’ll work. When things start going bad just avoid each other? No need to increase the amount of awkward confrontations right?” You slip your knitting needles into your hands and look at her.  
She nods. “Right. Well, I’ll just be going then.” She disappears into the crowd and you walk dejectedly back to John.

READER => Switch Back To Being John. It Seems Our Rose’s Adventures Have Stilled For Now

Your name is JOHN EGBERT and your dear friend Rose has just walked up to you. You had noticed she was having a nice chat with an elegant looking woman, but you turned away and something seems to have happened.

“What’s wrong?” you ask as she approaches. She sits down next to you and lowers her voice, moving close to your ear.

“Don’t freak out, but, Vriska is in the back room.” You look at her quickly and she gives you a pointed look. Forcing your face to relax, you take a deep breath.

“How do you know?”

She looks slightly pained as she responds. “That lovely woman I was talking with. She was working for her.” It’s your turn to give her a pointed look. 

“And when did you find this out?” you ask.

“Not very long ago. It was very unfortunate and we both agreed to part and inform our respective groups.”

“So Vriska knows we’re here too?” She nods and looks behind her quickly. 

“There’s no sign of them yet, but who knows. The crowd’s so thick they could just be hiding. I think it would be best to-” she’s cut off by a shrill whistle. You both turn and see a small yet imposing figure standing on a table. Red boots shine in the dim light. A mass of hair is held down by a large hat with a single blue plume.

“I’m looking for a certain man who goes by the name of John Egbert,” she calls out, not exactly shouting, but her voice echoes and seems to come from deep within her chest. You and Rose make your way through the crowd, coming to a stop a few feet away from her.

She looks over at you and grins wolfishly. “Hello there my little captain. How are you?”

“Why are you bothering to talk to us?” you ask going straight to the point. There’s no time for foolish dallyings and pointless conversations. She manages to grin even wider.

“Well that’s not very nice. Here I am, trying to be civil, and you just ignore me.”  
“We’re doing well Ms. Serket. I must say, I too am curious as to why you are bothering with civilities.” Rose said, stepping up so you two stand shoulder to shoulder.

“I thought it would be better if I at least tried to be polite before I escaped and made a fool out of you, the king, and your government.” Rose narrowed her eyes and gripped her needles more tightly.

“And how do you think you’re going to do that?” you ask.

"Well I was going to use my cleverly planted crewmates to help me create a distraction. Then I was going to run out during the confusion and escape.” She pretends to look at her wrist for a watch.

“Oh it seems to be about that time. Au revoir little Englishmen." Vriska says, before plunging into the crowd. You try and shove your way through and you manage to knock into someone. They turn around and growl at you.

"Shit," you mutter as he brings his fist around, aiming for your face. You duck and run towards the door, being careful to dodge anyone. Practically leaping towards door, you rush outside and look around. The pirate and her crew mates are nowhere to be found. An old woman is sweeping off the porch to their store across the street and you run over to her.

"Have you seen anyone come out of that pub recently? She may have been wearing a large hat with a blue feather and red boots?" you demand. The local shakes her head.

"The only person I've seen come out of that place is you, dear."

"Alright. Thanks for your help I guess."

"No problem, dear. I'm always glad to help," she gives you a wide smile and pinches your cheek. You smile back then make your way across the street. As your friends file out, all panting slightly, you think of a way to tell them that you lost her and you're going to have to go back to the mainland and say so to your 'boss'. You open your mouth but before you can say anything, Terezi interrupts.

"She got away didn't she?" You sigh and nod.

"Yeah she got away. The only person out on the street didn't see which way she went. That was pretty clever of her, starting the fight like that. In all the confusion we couldn't even tell when she left. We'll have to go back to the mainland. Maybe we can do a few other missions while waiting for her to rear her ugly head." You take a deep breath. "I don't know how we'll get her but we've gotta believe we can. Maybe we can get an extension. Who knows. Whatever the case let's head back to the ship. We'll be sailing through the night, so I suggest you all get some sleep whenever you can." You make it back to the ship in silence.

"Well?" Jane asks once you board. "Do you know where she's headed." Rose shakes her head.

"She managed to get away without anyone seeing her. We're going back to the mainland to report in, and maybe we can get some more information there."

"Everyone let's all take a minute to calm down. I know you're probably frustrated and angry, but that won't do if we're going to try to head back to the mainland tonight. Everyone needs to be in tip-top shape for a night of sailing. I'll be in my cabin if anyone needs me. We set sail in 10 minutes." You head off to your cabin and sink down onto your chair, heaving a big sigh. You close your eyes and take a few deep breaths before you begin to write out a report. A few minutes later there's a knock at your door.

"Come in," you call and the door opens to reveal Dave. You smile a little. "Hey Dave."

"Hey John." He sits down in the chair across from you. "Once we get back, what's our plan?"

"Well, we have to report back and then we'll see if they have any new missions for us. Nothing to big, of course. Maybe something we can do on the mainland. Then I suppose I'll ask if they have any information on where she might head and if we can get an extension. Then I think we may just have to wait until she makes a move. I don't want to go out chasing loose ends and ghosts if we can wait to get some solid proof first."

He's silent for a minute, then, "I don't like it. Just sitting on our asses while she gets farther and farther away and the clock ticks closer to the end of the month."

"I know, but we don't have much of a choice do we?" you say sighing. "If we are playing a game then chasing her all over the world just to be evaded at the last minute is exactly what she wants." You stand and go over to him, leaning on your desk. "i know you're worried and stressed about this whole thing, but there's no point in exhausting ourselves over someone who manages to evade every attempt to catch her." He stands and nods then gives you a tight hug.

"I don't want to lose you, John," he says very quietly.

"And you won't. We will get her, Dave. I know we will. Now, let's set sail and make way for the mainland. I'll see if I can sucker Jane into cooking. She'll probably make something amazing with whatever we've got." You pull away from him and smile. "I love you, Dave."

He gives a small smile in return. "I love you too." You make your way outside and announce that you're setting sail. Your friends hurry about raising the anchor and releasing the mast. You make your way to the quarterdeck and watch your crew, occasionally calling out orders, before turning and watch Edriln fade away into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: I've rewritten this so many times oh man. Well here's the final version, hopefully. It only took me nine months.
> 
> I Truly Apologize If You Read The Last Chapter. Or I Should Say  
> Last Version Of This Chapter.  
> Ah Fuck  
> I Had A Shitty Dayh When I Wrote This  
> Basically  
> Typhoid Shot Because I'm Going To A Malarial Zone Or Some Shit  
> Reaction To Shot  
> Massive Headache, Fevers, Pains Etc.  
> THis Helped Tohugh  
> c:


	5. A Mighty Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. - Alan W. Watts

READER => Be ERIDAN AMPORA

You cannot be ERIDAN AMPORA because he is asleep. (Finally)

Alright. Let's try someone else.

Be FEFERI PEIXES

Sadly, she to is sleeping soundly next to her matesprit. It'd be in our best interests not to wake her.

Why is everyone sleeping? Oh yeah. It's the middle of the night. Let's try just a few more, okay?

READER => Be ARANEA SERKET

You cannot be ARANEA SERKET because she is- on a date! How romantic!

Try to be KARKAT VANTAS

Hey fuckass. I'm a little busy at the moment. Try again later.

Alright. Well that's everyone. THE AUTHOR => Try and give a bit more information on the situation at hand.

Basically, on some weird, foreign, and probably large, planet two species struggle for the upper hand. You have the trolls, horned and grey skinned creatures that tend to be violent, and the humans, hornless creatures with many skin colors. These two species have had a tense relationship for ages, or at least, the two governments have. Most of the lower-class on both sides couldn't care less what you are. The nobles vary greatly. The time period they are currently in is about the time of the Ancestors on Alternia or the late 16 and early 1700's in Earth's history. Pirates roam the seas pillaging coastal towns and seaports. Much of the oceans have yet to be mapped and explored; many people of this land would never dare to venture out to sea, for it is said that dark and terrifying creatures live in the depths of the ocean. Magic is a widely debated subject. Some of the unwise and more ignorant dwellers of this realm scoff at the idea of magic and turn up their noses, saying it's merely ridiculous superstition. Most, however, know not to be so foolish. Magic is, of course, very much real and very much alive. Focusing back on our heroes, it's a bit hard to explain actually. Our eight humans are, in fact, nobility. The Strilonde and Crockenglharlbert families have been partners through the generations. The actual genetics are quite confusing, but we won't focus on that now. Maybe sometime later on we'll be enlightened to the relationships of these families. They were all enlisted into the service of the gracious and bountiful Empire of Earth, often serving as the head of their navy, receiving and completing many tasks, missions, quests in their name. Recently they have been given the order to track down and capture a certain Vriska Serket, a very powerful and one of a kind pirate. The kids are soon finding this task increasingly difficult, as the infamous girl is living up to her name as being as hard to catch as a sneaky little spider. Let's check back with dearest Karkat.

You are now Karkat Vantas, and you apologize for not allowing you to become yourself earlier. You were a bit preoccupied with trying not to fall on the way up to the bird's nest.

After all, a ship as big as this one would be lost without it's little scout. Kanaya has come up behind you and you find yourself watching the horizon squeezed between two people who you are quickly becoming friends with. Nepeta is regaling you with the story of how they slipped past the humans and threw them off their trail without them ever even knowing they'd gone until it was too late. Kanaya is interjecting occasionally to fill in the gaps of Nepeta's story. You almost feel sorry for the poor fools, being embarrassed like that must have really put a damper on their chase for Vriska.

"Ofurall, it went purretty well. The humans were completely clueless to what we were planning! I wonder if they went back to the catpurrtal to report to their boss," Nepeta muses when she finishes.

"Based on their mission and the ranking of all of them, I would infer that they did indeed report back. After all, this is a pretty big loss on their part. Now they have no clues as to where we are going." Kanaya says, tilting her head to the side a bit, as though she was double checking a report that didn't make much sense. "Although, Vriska doesn't seem to be using her usual method of escaping. She's going straight back to that little area where we all have hives we rent out. Normally, she zigzags from port to port, dropping fake leads everywhere her feet touch solid earth. I wonder what she's planning." You shrug.

"Maybe for some reason she find these idiots particularly useful, whether they be her pawns or her allies. I haven't been here for long, but from what I can see she changes things up when she gets bored. Maybe she just wants a chase, an actual honest to gog foot, or should I say, shiprace. The humans seem pretty smart, maybe she thinks they'll figure her out and actually come close to getting her. Not the close where they only think they're getting close, but actual honest to goodness close. All adrenaline rush and out racing them to get to safety, but I could be wrong," you note a bit absently as you pick at the edge of your shirt. The girls stare at you.

"You're fury purrceptive Karkitty," Nepeta said with some surprise in her voice.

"And you may very well be right." Kanaya pursed her lips. "She should know better than to do that, we've yet to face this particular group and already they seem more intelligent then most of the unwise fools who try and capture her. With every chase there is a chance of capture and with some there is more chance than others. This may very well be the time she's taken into custody and, as became quite apparent yesterday, they have Terezi, a famed, brilliant, and former friend, on their side. She's never lost a case and there's almost no doubt that Vriska would be executed. I hope she knows that."

"Why don't you just warn her if you realize things are getting too close for comfort?" you ask, confused. Kanaya gives you a small smile and Nepeta lets out a short peal of laughter.

"Once Furiska sets her mind to something, there's nothing that can change it."

"Sadly, even if we did try to warn her she wouldn't listen and she'd probably just call us joykilling wimps and ignore anything we said thereafter." Kanaya says. You can hear the irritation in her voice and come to the conclusion she's probably tried to talk Vriska out of things before and failed. You huff and shake your head.

"If she's so stubborn how does she ever do anything? Wouldn't she just stick to the plan even if it was obvious the plan needed to change?" you ask, slightly incredulous. "That just seems like a recipe for disaster."

"Often times it is. She'll sometimes flat-out refuse to do anything differently if she came up with the plan because she thinks that her plans can't ever fail. It's gotten us into trouble before and even lost us some valuable allies and information. She is, however, very smart and once she accepts the fact that her plan obviously isn't working or isn't going to work she changes it quickly. In the situations where nothing seems to be working and it feels like we're digging our very own grave, we've found things are easily resolved with a little help from a chainsaw." Kanaya responded, looking a bit pleased with herself at the end. You give a quick grin and then notice Nepeta's gone still as a statue, eyes trained on a spot in the horizon. You turn around and squint in the direction she's looking and see a mass of grey-green coming towards you.

"Storm," she says very quietly, voice laced with adrenaline and fear, eyes still locked on the horizon. She blinks and then calls out again, louder this time, "Storm! We've got a massive storm coming at us from the west." She quickly slides down the mast pole, you and Kanaya climbing down quickly after her. By now several people have made their way above decks, looking to Nepeta for more information.

She turns to address them and says in a loud clear voice you didn't know she had, "There's a storm coming at us from the west. From the looks of it, it's big and moving fast, might be one of those big summer storms come early. Expect strong winds and salt. The ocean will have been turned into a roiling thrashing mess and there'll be sea spray and massive waves. This ship has been designed to be able to ride the waves, but that doesn't mean she's invincible. We'll keep riding into the storm, but the second we hit be prepared to furl all the sails. Take all lose items either below deck or strap them down. We don't want anything flying around and possibly hitting someone. Bring out the empty barrels and buckets, don't give me those looks, you're not 3 sweeps old anymore, and be prepared to bail out any water that comes on deck. Trust me, there will be water that comes on deck, and there will be massive waves that break over the boat, but we can get by with minor damages _only_ if everyone keeps their head and doesn't act like a wiggler." She finishes and turns to the captain who had apparently come out some time during the middle of Nepeta's little speech. "Anything to add Captain?"

"One thing. Don't destroy my ship," she said, voice laced with seriousness under the usual snark of her voice. She looks around at the group of faces and barks out, "Well? Get to it!"

The small crew hurries away securing all lose items and going below decks to fetch the buckets and barrels. Nepeta barks out orders over the low keening of wind, already sounding even though the storm is still far off. You strap down some of the barrels that are going to be used to bail water, checking to make sure the knot is strong, but will come undone easily if someone needs to get at the barrels quickly. You stand and look around the deck to see if there is anything else to be strapped down or put away. The keening has grown louder, a constant presence at this point, and your clothes flap around. There's a distinct smell of ozone in the air, warning you of the lightning to come. Small drops of rain have begun to spatter the deck and your clothing, the storm is now close enough that you can see the lightning occasionally lighting up the mass of rain and wind and sea. Waves toss the boat around, already choppy from the oncoming storm.

"When the storm hits, keep an eye on the tiller! If it moves we'll be thrown of course and be set back by at best a few days, at worst much much longer!" Nepeta bellows over the now howling wind. Rain and spray sting your eyes and push your hair into your face. The grey cloud has practically become a wall, around the ship. With one final look at the blue sky behind you, you turn and face the storm.

It hits with the force of a hurricane.

Icy wind stings your eyes as you run to take the main sail down, slipping on the slick deck. The wind is a roar in your ears batting you this way and that, never letting you walk without a force to slow you. Grabbing the ropes is harder than you thought, even with them coiled tightly around the mast they still fly around and out of your hands. You yank as hard as you can and bring the mast down to the ground to lie in a wet heap at your feet. You hold on to the rope with all your force and some part of you is dimly aware of the fact that you're getting massive rope burn. Reaching around the mast, still holding on to the rope like it's your only chance of survival, and in this case it might be, you coil it tightly and knot it. The small pulley system is moving up and then down as the ship moves and tosses about on the roiling waves. The ship rides up one side of a wave and then makes the top, plummeting down to the ground and taking your stomach along with it.

Waves break over the crest of the ship and you slip and slide over to the buckets, grabbing one and bailing as quickly as possible. You blink the rain and the sea out of your eyes and look to the tiller. Sollux and Aradia are holding it firmly in place, squinting you notice very faint red, blue, and white light surrounding it as well. You take a moment to be grateful for the fact that you have two crew members with powers. They also seem to be conserving their energy. You nod to yourself and are grateful once again that not only do they have powers, they're also smart. Who knows how long this storm will last and if anyone else tried to keep the tiller still, they'd probably fly off. You can just barely see it swivel a bit every now and then when they hit a particular strong wave or gust of wind.

Up, up, up you go, riding another wave. The icy rain has made your fingers and face numb, your shoes are soaked through and your feet only feel the cold water as you run. Your body goes on autopilot, forcing your feet and hands to move even when you can't feel what you're doing, stumbling over knots that should be easy to tie. You ride up a wave, then drop. By now you're used to the feeling and your stomach just does a little jump. The wave breaks over the bow and you bail out the water.

You lose count of how many times this happens, your body working on it's own. Wait, run, bail, repeat. Sometime later the wind lowers it's howling to a low keen, the rain turns into a faint sprinkle, and the waves calm. The storm rages on behind you, but ahead there is only blue sky and, on the far horizon, a strip of land that must be your next stop. You shake the water out of your hair and move once more. The sails still need to be pulled and checked, the backlash of the storm should give them enough wind to have them going quickly towards the land. You tie the knot, hard, and step back, stretching a little. Nepeta moves to the center of the deck and calls out, "Good work everyone, check the ship for any repairs and make sure our food and gunpowder are secure and _dry_. Dinner's in ten." 

Kanaya steps up beside her and puts a hand on her should. "We're barely of course and with the winding hitting our backs, it shouldn't take long until we are back on track. We should arrive in Underah sometime this night." She smiles reassuringly at you all. "Good work everyone, now go get some downtime. I'll need a few of you to stay above decks with me, but the sea is calm and we're moving quickly so there shouldn't be too much to do. Equius, I'll need you to go around once more and double check for any place in need of repairs. If you have the tools, see to it they are fixed." The crowd disperses and you head over to the main sail. Settling down into the little space beside it, you lean back and take of your shoes. Your feet are still cold, but they've regained some feeling and you rub them with some vigor. Someone plops down beside you. You look over and see Kanaya leaning against the mast next to you. Her hair looks a little bit disheveled but other than that she still manages to look flawlessly elegant and classy without, it seems, even trying.

"Do you get storms like that often?" you ask her, still rubbing your feet.

She shakes her head. "Not really. Occasionally it'll be especially windy or the sea will be rough, but storms don't happen much outside of storm season. This one seems to be a bit of a latecomer, although it was still quite violent. Most of the time the ocean is calm and things go smoothly."

"How did the ship break those waves like that?"

"I'm really not all that qualified in things like this but I believe it has something to do with the way the front of the boat is shaped. It makes it easier to break through large waves because it has a more streamlined shape?" her tone at the end makes it sound like a question. She looks at you and smiles kind of like "I don't know what I'm doing i'm just winging it". You hold back a smile of your own.

"Thanks. I'll see if anyone else knows tomorrow. What's for dinner?"

"Whatever is left of our rations. We'll be docking tonight and it's been a while since we restocked on food so we'll be doing that there as well. Probably some beans and meat. A few stale rolls and wine to wash it down." She shrugs. "It won't be much but we can all get a nicer, hot meal once we dock."

"Sounds delicious. Why are we stopping here anyway? And how long are we going to be here for?"

"We're stopping because, as I said before, we're running low on rations. We also need to get more supplies in general, seeing as we have two new crew mates and we've just been through a storm. From what she's told me, Vriska's also going to stop at an allies house and get a bit of information, send out some of her spies, the usual. We'll only be there for maybe two days, then I'm pretty sure we're going to the plot of private land she bought a while back where we have our hives and most of our belongings. We normally stay there for a week or so, depending on whether we're on the run or not. Sometimes we stay longer if we happen to be there around Twelfth Perig-" she's cut off by Nepeta coming above decks to yell "Dinner!"

You pull on your still damp shoes and make your way below decks with Kanaya at your side. The space below has had a table cleared off and then "decorated" with a large variety of pots and pans and plates. You sit down along with the others and quickly dig in. Kanaya was right. There's not much food, only some meat, beans, rolls, and even a little bit of extra vegetables. The wine is, frankly, stale and really quite strong but it washes down the dryness in your mouth from the other food just find. There's only eight on this ship, and yet they manage to make quite a ruckus. Dinner is good and relatively homely with people telling jokes and stories loudly over their plates. Soon the food is gone and everyone disperses once more, still chuckling over the last story told by, surprisingly, Aradia about an unfortunate adventure to some ruins.

Outside night has begun to fall and the sky is streaked with reds, oranges, yellows, and there, at the very edge, a dark purple blue as the sun makes it's way down. The temperature has dropped slightly, and there's a faint wind but you don't mind. Everything is calm and quiet as you make your way towards the faint glow of Underah. You've always preferred sunsets, you think. There's always been something more intriguing about the harsh dying light chased away by the intense blue-black of a night sky, than the more gentle light of a rising sun bringing a new day to expel the darkness of the past night. But you're getting too philosophical here. Whatever. As the final light of day fades away, you dock at the crowded port of Underah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FUN FACT YOU SHOULD TOTES READ THESE AUTHOR NOTES SOMETIMES THEY'RE ACTUALLY IMPORTANT
> 
> For all of you that haven't been asking, most of the ships that I've tagged are already existing when the story starts, with the exception of course for the people who have yet to meet, but a lot of these are pre-existing. Like johndave, dirkjake, cotton candy, etcetera etcetera. Also- guys please please leave comments and stuff. It's really nice to know if people actually give a single shit about what I'm writing. Any questions, opinions, hell helpful tips, literally ANYTHING is nice. Except, you know, hate, but yeah. Any tips or opinions or thoughts or even just something like, this story is great! keep it up! would be hella cool. Blarghs into sun. Basically feedback is very VERY appreciated and I'll probably respond and squee all over you or answer questions or WHATEVER. In all seriousness leaving any ind of comment really brightens my day and inspires me to write more so anything you have to say is appreciated C: I hope I can start updating more regularly and I apologize if that doesn't happen AT ALL. I tend to do that; I also tend to ramble if you hadn't noticed.


	6. Update

So, as I'm sure is obvious by this point, it has been a while since I updated this. Sadly I can't say I will ever finish it although I would love to, I fell off the homestuck train and high school is really just killing me. Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you to anyone who read :)


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